No4's Dropped to the French Resistance

[Surpmil]

American troops arrived in Nice on the 28th, but I doubt they brought any No.4 rifles with them.

Someone picked one up in Normandy in the previous month and brought it down to Nice?

Doubtful.

[Peter Laidler]

Nobody's saying that the resistance didn't have bayonets - the very LAST means of mechanical defiance don't forget before you try to hook xxxxxxxxxx xxxx out - but there are a thousand more important things that they need such as batteries (always in short supply) easily decipherable/easily read explosive instructions* Partisans are are covert bringers of fear. Something that, generally speaking, bayonets don't achieve and furthermore, they only kill or maim ONE at a time while a grenade or time bomb will get 10.
* initially they had loads of explosives, fuzes and detonators but no decent easily read literature on what to do with it. Many accidents because of this too.

[Flying10uk]

My Grandfather was in the Home Guard during the war and I suspect that he was also a member of the Auxiliary Unit which would have been the British resistance had the Germans invaded the U.K.. It is known that the Auxiliary Units had at their disposal clubs sometimes wooden, often with metal studs protruding similar to what was used during WW1. Often these clubs were home made from wood and interestingly I still have the one which my Grandfather made during the war. It has been made from a wooden spade shaft and one end has been cross drilled for studding in several places. Indentations can still be seen in the wood where metal studding has been fitted and retained with nuts each side but my Grandfather must have removed this studding at the end of the war, leaving just the holes in the wood. My father did ask him the reason for the holes in the club and got the silly reply that they were cooling holes to stop the club from overheating when he swung it.

I could post pictures if anyone is interested although it has been stained a darker colour by my father because he thought it looked better for display purposes.

[browningautorifle]

Someone picked one up in Normandy in the previous month and brought it down to Nice?

Doubtful.

Well, you don't know that. Nor anything else about it. Or that the label on the picture is even remotely correct.

[Flying10uk]

Nice : Maquisards de Levens posant à Nice devant l'hôtel Scribe le matin du 29 août 1944 ( doc Paniccaci)

Is anyone able to identify the rifle which the man 4th from left is holding, with bayonet attached, please? (Post 107)

[Surpmil]

Nobody's saying that the resistance didn't have bayonets - the very LAST means of mechanical defiance don't forget before you try to hook xxxxxxxxxx xxxx out - but there are a thousand more important things that they need such as batteries (always in short supply) easily decipherable/easily read explosive instructions* Partisans are are covert bringers of fear. Something that, generally speaking, bayonets don't achieve and furthermore, they only kill or maim ONE at a time while a grenade or time bomb will get 10.
* initially they had loads of explosives, fuzes and detonators but no decent easily read literature on what to do with it. Many accidents because of this too.

I agree Peter, but I thought the debate was whether the Maquis/FFI might have been supplied with spike bayonets for some or all of the No4 rifles that were air-dropped to them in 1943/44?

Well, you don't know that. Nor anything else about it. Or that the label on the picture is even remotely correct.

That's right Jim, all we know is what we can see in the photo and what is claimed on that website. Here's a bit more info on the photo: Musée de la résistance en ligne

So how do you think that Maquisard in Nice on the morning of August 29th 1944 came to be holding a No.4 with a spike bayonet fitted?

My bet would be it came in an airdrop container along with the rifle.

Some good info on the containers etc. here: Google Translate

[Gil Boyd]

Flying10uk,
Looks to me like a Karabiner 98 Kurz.

[Roger Payne]

Rob, I'm inclined to agree re the No4 - I'm sure that quantities would have been dropped to various resistance units all over France for the couple of years running up to D-Day. I know stens & explosives would be the ideal, but I'm sure rifles were para dropped as well. I'm going over to France tonight for a week so I'll see if I can turn up any more information, at least for the Pas-de-Calais/Picardy region. My wife & sons will be at home meantime but don't expect any sense from them on the subject of Enfields!

[RobD]

Originally Posted by browningautorifle
Well, you don't know that. Nor anything else about it. Or that the label on the picture is even remotely correct.

Well, the Hotel le Scribe still stands in Nice and its entrance matches the Hotel Scribe in the picture.

[browningautorifle]

Well, the Hotel le Scribe still stands in Nice

That wasn't what I was talking about.

Someone picked one up in Normandy in the previous month and brought it down to Nice?

Doubtful.

This was...